Pink protest shows Rob Ford still a ‘lone wolf’ as council has final meeting before election

Mayor Rob Ford had been plotting from the corner of the room. Side conversations with the city manager and a back and forth chat with his staff led to this: an eleventh-hour motion on the floor of council asking Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment to “consider” allocating time at a new Raptors practice facility to residents of Toronto Community Housing.

The mayor didn’t openly work the room for support. When he spoke, councillors continued chatting amongst themselves. And when they sent his motion back to staff, Mayor Ford accused his colleagues of having “insulted every single kid in Toronto Community Housing.”

The Raptors deal sailed through council, with only the Ford brothers in opposition.

It was but one more vignette illustrating the fraught relationship between the “lone wolf” chief magistrate and many of his council colleagues — this one occurring in the last meeting of the council term, to the backdrop of a looming municipal election.

For another vignette, one could look across the council chambers Monday and seen it dotted with pink. At least eight councillors, most of them left wing, donned the colour to signal, as one predicted it, “the end of Rob Ford.”

Councillors have worn pink in protest before, a nod to the inaugural council meeting of the term, in which Don Cherry ripped into “left-wing pinkos” while wearing a hot pink suit.

“I thought this was a playful way of showing my discontent with the mayor,” Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam told reporters. “When we first came to city council, the very first city council meeting, I think there was a tone of divisional politics set. You were either with us or against us was the mayor’s comments out there. And clearly I have not been with Mayor Ford. I think he is an ineffective mayor.”

She went on to call him “dysfunctional,” a “poor leader,” “delusional about his own self worth” and “wanted by police for questioning.”

Councillor Ana Bailao called her pink sweater a “statement that we want a council that works better, that is inclusive, that is respectful of each other’s ideas. That we may agree to disagree.”

It wasn’t all friction between the mayor and his colleagues on Monday, though. On a proposal to trim the period of time during which election signs could be displayed from 25 days before the vote to 14, councillors voted to refer the matter to staff for further study. Since this is the last council meeting before the municipal election, that decision has the effect of maintaining the status quo, as Mr. Ford had wanted.

But on the issue of the $30-million Raptors facility — paid for by MLSE — at Exhibition Place, the mayor was outspoken, a switch from last week, when he supported the plan at executive committee.

MLSE has promised to set aside most of the day and evening court time for community use, but on Monday Mr. Ford said he wanted the company to consider setting aside 10% of its community use time for TCHC residents. Not wanting to risk the deal, council voted instead to refer that item to the city manager.

“They’ve just insulted every single kid in Toronto Community Housing. The most under-privileged kids in the city should have the right immediately, not play political games and send it to the city manager. Who knows how long it’s going to take to get it back,” he said after the vote, calling it a “slap in the face.”

The referral motion was moved by Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, who wanted staff to broaden the scope beyond TCHC residents. Councillor Gord Perks said a city policy already gives low income youth access to the facility.

“That vote was intended to say every child who lives in a family that may not be able to pay for organized sports in the city, will have an opportunity,” said Councillor Janet Davis. “We need time to explore how that can happen. This makes no statement about TCHC kids. All kids should benefit from this deal.”

Councillor Mark Grimes, the chair of Exhibition Place and usually a Ford ally, said MLSE already has programs specifically for lower income youth. He called the mayor’s opposition disappointing.

“I think he’s playing a little politics there,” said Mr. Grimes. “To come at this eleventh hour, if that was the motion, he should have moved it at executive. And with me as chair, I would have appreciated his coming to me and talking to me… Everybody wants youth in there. I’m the youth guy, I love building things for youth. And I think this is just another great addition.”